Improvement in gates



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ELIJAH B. WHITAKER, on BEL AIR, MARYLAND.

IMPROVEMENT IN GATTES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 133,960, dated December17, 1872; antcdated December To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, ELIJAH B. WHITAKER, of Bel Air, in the county ofHarford and State of Maryland, have invented a new and valuableImprovement in Automatic Gates; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description of the constructionand operation of the same, reference being bad to the annexed drawingmaking a part of this specification, and to the letters and figures ofreference marked thereon.

- 'Figure 1 of the drawing is a representation of a plan view of myinvention. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same. Fig.3 is a detailview.

This invention has relation to that class of automatic farm-gates inwhich the movement of the gate is effected by the turning of crankshaftslocated at a distance therefrom and moved by the wheels of a carriage orwagon passing over them. This invention consists in the construction andnovel arrangement of devices connecting said crank-shafts with the gatein such a manner that when one of said .crankshafts is operated the gateshall be thrown out of plumb, and be thereby made to swing from end tomiddle post, or vice versa, as hereinafter described.

In the accompanying drawing, A represents a farm-gate so hung as to openonly one way. The gate has two hinges, one consisting of an eyebolt, c,hung on a hook, c, fastened to the hinge-post (I. The other hingecomprises the rod E hinged to the post of the gate and made with aknee-bend, e, and the quadrant-pulley F pivoted atthe angle of its twoequal sides, and receiving at another angle the lower end of the hingedrod E. The rod Eworks freely within a staple, 6 H designates thecrank-shafts, through which the gate is opened and shut when a vehicleapproaches and leaves it. I represents pulleys attached to saidcrank-shaft. I is a cord, which, being passed around and secured to eachof said pulleys, is connected at its ends to the quadrant-pulley F insuch a manner that by the turning of either of said pulleys I thequadrant-pulley shall be moved. The proper way of arranging the. cord isto attach the ends to the angle of the pulley F furthest from theshaft-pulley whence they proceed, as shown in the drawing.

The turning of one of the crank-shafts by means of a carriage or wagonwheel has the effect of turning the quadrant-pulley, and so of raisingthe forward end of the gate from the catch and of tilting the gate onits hinges. When the gate is thus thrown out of a .vertical line itimmediately tends to swing to that side toward which it leans, and thuseither opens or closes according to its position when operated upon. 4

I am well aware that it is not new to use a full circular pulley for theattachment of the operating-chains; therefore, I do not claim such.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-- The quadrant-pulley F and the bent hingebar E, in combination withthe gate A and the cord I, pulleys H, and crank-shafts I, substantiallyas and for the purpose specified.

In testimony that I claim the above I have hereunto subscribed my namein the presence of two witnesses.

ELIJAH B. WHITAKER.

Witnesses:

D. D. KANE, GEO. E. UPHAM.

